Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Long Point

36.25°N · 75.85°W · Cape · Currituck Sound

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Best score today · 5 PM · Striped bass

78/100Great
Now
685 PM EST
Best window
5-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.9 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score68Great
Tide1.9 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind5 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 5 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy67% cloud
Water63°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Striped bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Striped bass in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Long Point

Depth
1-5 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Long Point

Long Point is a cape in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, spotted seatrout and black sea bass. It is peak season now for little tunny, spotted seatrout, black sea bass and red drum, and shoulder season for striped bass, Atlantic croaker, spot and black drum. Little tunny peak from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from September through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Poplar Branch Bay

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    80
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Weakfish 77
    • Red drum 76

    5 kt NEL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ft

  • Jarvis Channel

    Gut · 1.8 mi

    80
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Weakfish 80
    • Red drum 79

    5 kt NEL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ft

  • Stumpy Cove

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    80
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 80
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Weakfish 76

    5 kt NEL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ft

  • Dowdy Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    78
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 78
    • Weakfish 76
    • Red drum 75

    5 kt NEL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NCDMF before you keep a fish.